INDUSTRY and ethical leaders have welcomed Seafish's risk assessment tool, following its launch at Humber Seafood Summit.
As reported on page one of September's Business Telegraph, the online 'assistant' that helps seafood buyers make informed purchasing decisions for their businesses, was unveiled after months of work in Grimsby.
It gives a risk rating based on solid science provided by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, allowing companies to tailor their ethical stance to stocks out there.
Tom Pickerell, Seafish technical director, introduced what is known as RASS to the 200 delegates. He said: "As the industry authority on seafood, Seafish is committed to promoting best practice throughout the supply chain, from UK commercial fishermen to producers and ultimately retailers.
"With RASS, we have for the first time created a single, powerful reference resource for commercial seafood buyers to consult in order to make sound sourcing decisions based on their own corporate philosophies rather than being told what seafood they should and should not buy."
It received a warm reception with delegates given the chance to use the tool at the two-day event at Humber Royal Hotel.
Mike Mitchell, group technical and corporate social responsibility director at Grimsby-headquartered Young's Seafood, said: "RASS is a robust and independent tool for businesses to use when making their seafood purchasing decisions. The fishery and environmental science required to support those decision making processes can be complex and highly technical, information is often difficult to find and even harder to understand by seafood buyers, processors and retailers.
"Because RASS is accessible to everybody, from the novice to the qualified fishery scientist, it has a huge appeal to all types of seafood business - from the very small to the very large. Here at Young's, we have fully supported the development of RASS and we foresee that it will play an important role within our own ever-evolving 'Fish for Life' programme."
RASS fishery profiles will contain information on stock status, the efficacy of management, as well as sea-floor habitat and by-catch impacts. The first tranche of around 100 profiles based on the most common species bought in the UK - including haddock, cod and tuna -are available now, and profiles will continue to be added over the coming months. Crucially the tool will also eventually address ethical and welfare issues around sourcing seafood that remains an area of great concern for the industry.
Katie Miller, co-ordinator of Sustainable Seafood Coalition, which launched its own code of conduct at the summit, said:
"It is encouraging to see much of the seafood industry focus on improving the sustainability of their fish and on ensuring they source responsibly. Reliable information is crucial to addressing such a complex challenge. We expect the RASS tool to be very useful to suppliers, retailers and others evaluating the risk related to sourcing a particular fish. We look forward to seeing RASS develop to cover more fish stocks."
This article first appeared in October's Business Telegraph. View the eBook here.
